Coexistence management of GNSS and wireless operations

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for to managing use of a satellite positions system (SPS) receiver in conjunction with one or more radio access technology (RAT) transmitters. In certain embodiments, a controller can be used to prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmission by the one or more RAT transmitters.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application for Patent is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/402,045, entitled “COEXISTENCE MANAGEMENT OF GNSS AND WIRELESSOPERATIONS”, filed Jan. 9, 2017, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/366,964, filed Jul. 26, 2016, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entiretyfor all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the disclosure relate to wireless communications, and moreparticularly to managing use of a satellite positioning system (SPS)receiver in conjunction with one or more radio access technology (RAT)transceivers.

The use of wireless communication technologies is becoming moreprevalent with a wide variety of devices. Some devices can be referredto as Internet of Thing (IoT) devices. Examples of IoT devices caninclude consumer electronics such as watches, thermostats, blenders,light switches, etc. The use of wireless communication technologieswithin these devices can enable certain functionalities of IoT devices.For example, a user of an internetworked device (such as a smartphone)may be able to remotely command a blender, thermostat, light switch, orother IoT device to operate without being in physical proximity to thedevice.

Certain IoT devices can include SPS functionality to enable locating anIoT device by a user of an internetworked device, by a manufacturer ofthe device, or by a service provider of a service that the deviceprovides, for example. Certain IoT devices can be commodity or similardevices wherein cost is of relatively high concern as profit margins forthese devices can be relatively minimal. As such, there is need forimprovement in the field of wireless communication devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Certain embodiments are described that provide techniques for managinguse of an SPS receiver in conjunction with one or more RAT transceivers.

In certain embodiments, techniques are disclosed including a satellitepositioning system (SPS) receiver; a transmitter operating in accordancewith a radio access technology (RAT); and a controller communicativelycoupled to the SPS receiver and the transmitter. The controller can beconfigured to prioritize reception by the SPS receiver over transmissionby the transmitter in accordance with the RAT, by: (1) determining thatthe SPS receiver is receiving a first signal to determine a location ofthe SPS receiver; and (2) in response to determining that the SPSreceiver is receiving the first signal, inducing the transmitter toeither: (a) delay a second signal from being transmitted by thetransmitter while the first signal is received by the SPS receiver andthe location of the SPS has not been determined; or (b) transmit thesecond signal at a low power level while the first signal is received bythe SPS receiver, the low power level determined to allow reception ofthe first signal by the SPS receiver.

The controller can be further configured to select the low power levelbased on a determination that the second signal transmitted at the lowpower level will be received by a station. The controller canadditionally be configured to select the low power level based on adetermination that a prior signal transmitted by the transmitter wasreceived at the station. The controller can also be configured to selectthe low power level based on a power level of a signal received from thestation.

The controller can be further configured to receive a grant command froma station indicating that the apparatus is granted permission for thetransmission. The prioritizing the reception by the SPS receiver overthe transmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT can bebased on the receiving of the grant command. The controller can beconfigured to inhibit the transmitter from transmitting unless a grantcommand is received by the controller from a station. The controller canalso be configured to, in response to determining that there is anoverlap between a reception by the SPS receiver and a transmission atthe transmitter, disregard positioning information derived from aportion of the reception that overlaps with the transmission.

In certain embodiments, the controller can be configured to induce thetransmitter to delay the second signal from being transmitted while thefirst signal is received by the SPS receiver or a location of the SPShas not been determined; and not transmit the second signal while thefirst signal is received by the SPS receiver. The controller can beconfigured to induce the transmitter to: transmit the second signal atthe low power level while the first signal is received by the SPSreceiver; and not delay the second signal from being transmitted whilethe first signal is received by the SPS receiver.

The controller can also be configured to determine whether thetransmission by the transmitter in accordance with the RAT isprioritized over the reception by the SPS receiver; and, in response todetermining that the transmission by the transmitter in accordance withthe RAT is prioritized over the reception by the SPS receiver. (1)induce the transmitter to transmit the second signal; and (2) either:(a) blank the SPS receiver from deriving positioning information basedon the reception; or (b) power down the SPS receiver. The determining ofwhether to blank the SPS receiver or power down the SPS receiver can bebased on a temporal length of a transmission by the transmitter. The RATcan be a wireless wide area network (WWAN). The controller can beintegrated onto a same integrated circuit die as either the SPS receiveror the transmitter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure are illustrated by way of example. In theaccompanying figures, like reference numbers indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system that may incorporateone or more embodiments including satellite location aspects;

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system that may incorporateone or more embodiments including a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitter;

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system that may incorporateone or more embodiments including a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitterwithout use of antenna filtering components; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system that may incorporateone or more embodiments including a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitterthrough use of a shared coexistence manager;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for implementing certain embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a computing system in which one or moreembodiments may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several illustrative embodiments will now be described with respect tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. While particularembodiments, in which one or more aspects of the disclosure may beimplemented, are described below, other embodiments may be used andvarious modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure or the spirit of the appended claims.

IoT devices are becoming increasingly prevalent and can enableinternetworked (e.g., smart) functionality in a variety of consumerelectronic devices. IoT devices can include commodity or other consumerelectronics that place increasing demands on device costs due to, forexample, price-conscious consumer demands. Consequently, costs to designand implement IoT features, including component costs, can be ofrelatively high importance as compared to other mobile communicationdevices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.).

Some features of IoT devices can be enabled through the use of an SPSreceiver (such as a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), forexample) used in conjunction with a RAT transmitter or transceiver. Forexample, certain IoT devices can include a GNSS receiver for use with anLTE or other transmitter to enable wireless communication functionalityof the IoT device. In these configurations, the use of the GNSS receiverin conjunction with the RAT transmitter can lead to several designchallenges. For example, use of the RAT transmitter can impede use ofthe GNSS receiver if, for example, the amount of electromagnetic energyproduced by the RAT transmitter interferes with location signal(s)received by the GNSS receiver for location determination purposes. Forexample, a signal transmitted via the RAT transmitter can attenuate asignal received by the GNSS receiver. The attenuation can prevent theGNSS receiver from locating the device.

Several techniques can be used to enable concurrent use of a GNSSreceiver and a RAT transmitter. For example, filtering, switching, orother diplexer components can be used to physically remove orsignificantly reduce leakage or interference induced by RAT transmissionsignals from attenuating GNSS signal(s) for a GNSS receiver. Use ofthese components can add to the cost of a bill of materials for a deviceby requiring additional physical components to be integrated into thedevice. Therefore, use of these components can increase the cost of adevice and/or reduce profit margins for a device. Thus, use of filteringcomponents that enable concurrent use of a GNSS receiver with a RATtransmitter can have undesirable consequences, especially whenincorporated into IoT devices.

Disclosed herein are techniques for managing use of a GNSS receiver inconjunction with one or more RAT transceivers. The techniques canoperate without use of potentially costly hardware components tophysically filter, diplex, and/or separate GNSS receiver locationsignals from RAT transmission signals. In certain embodiments, acontroller (i.e., coexistence manager) can be configured to manage useof a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitter. The GNSS receiver and the RATtransmitter can be separate and distinct components or be integratedinto a single component (such as an integrated circuit). The controllercan be integrated into either the GNSS receiver or the RAT transmitter,for example.

The controller can include functionality to independently resolvecontentions between use of a GNSS receiver and RAT transmitter of adevice. For example, the controller can be added to and/or supplementexisting functionality of an IoT device. The controller can include oneor more rules for determining priority between GNSS receiver and RATtransmitter operation. On or more antenna element(s) can be commonlyshared between a RAT transmitter and a GNSS receiver or they can bephysically distinct elements. It should be understood that transmissionsto or from a GNSS receiver or RAT transmitter can couple onto physicallydistinct antenna elements. Transmissions from a first antenna elementphysically coupled to a RAT transmitter can impact transmissionsreceived by a GNSS receiver on a second antenna element physicallycoupled to the GNSS receiver. The antenna elements can form part of anintegrated circuit, a device housing, or other component of the device(e.g., the antenna element does not have to be a distinct component).The controller can include one or more rules to determine selective orconcurrent operation of a GNSS receiver or RAT transmitter. The rulescan be hard coded (e.g., via switches, configuration pins, or other)and/or soft coded (via processor executable instructions). In certainembodiments, the rules can include historical information to improve orotherwise alter prioritization of GNSS receiver vs. RAT transmitteroperation.

In certain embodiments, the controller can manage access to an antennaelement by sequentially powering and/or enabling GNSS and RATfunctionality. For example, a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitter can beselectively powered such that only one of the receiver or transmitter isactive during a given time period. This time splicing of operation canavoid use of filtering or other hardware components for enabling fullduplex usage of a GNSS receiver and a RAT transmitter.

In certain embodiments, a technique referred herein as “blanking” can beused to manage GNSS receiver and RAT transmitter usage. Blanking is atechnique wherein both a GNSS receiver and RAT transmitter can bepowered simultaneously, but the GNSS receiver prevented for receivinglocating signal(s). Blanking can be enabled through additionalfunctionality of a GNSS receiver. For example, the GNSS receiver caninclude functionality that, when enabled, configures the GNSS receiverto ignore electromagnetic signals received via an antenna element. Theblanking functionality can include disconnecting or otherwise ignoringinput from, for example, an analog to digital converter coupled to anantenna element. Blanking functionality can be enabled via a hardwaresignal, such as a discrete signal or via a serial message from acontroller (such as the aforementioned controller), for example.Blanking can enable a GNSS receiver to be configured to ignore signalsin relatively less time as compared to, for example, cycling power tothe GNSS receiver or physically disconnecting the GNSS receiver from anantenna element. However, cycling power to a GNSS receiver may providepower savings advantages over blanking wherein the GNSS receiver maystill be powered albeit in a relatively low power state.

Use of IoT devices may present certain differing usage cases as comparedto other, more fully featured, wireless communication devices (such assmartphones, laptops, or tablets). As a generality, IoT devices mayprioritize GNSS reception over RAT transmission. For example, a GNSSreceiver may take precedence over a RAT transmission of an IoT device.Other, more fully featured device, such as smartphones and like devicesmay instead prioritize RAT operation. For example, a smartphone mayprioritize data transfer or communication transmissions as compared toGNSS operation. An IoT device may, in contrast, place a higher priorityon determining a location of the IoT device so that the locationinformation can be transmitted via a RAT transmission. For example,certain IoT devices may only perform one of a limited number offunctions. One of these functions may be determining a location of theIoT device and reporting the location information via a RATtransmission. As such, it may be advantageous for an IoT device to delaytransmission of information until a location is determined via use of aGNSS receiver.

As another example, an IoT device may operate as a “slave” devicewherein permission to transmit via a RAT transceiver may be dictated byan external “master” device. The master device may assign certainperiods and/or channels that the IoT device is allowed to transmit RATsignals. For example, a server may coordinate operation of several IoTdevices that may operate with similar frequency, channel, protocol, orother transmission attributes. Transmissions from one of the IoT devicesmay interfere with transmissions from a second one of the IoT devices.The server may prevent such interference by coordinating transmissionbetween each of the IoT devices. The coordination can include providingeach of the IoT devices a time period wherein the device is allowed totransmit RAT signal(s). The time periods may be non-overlapping betweenIoT devices to prevent interference between devices. Variousfrequencies, channel, or other transmission information may also becoordinated and/or dictated by the server or other master device.

As another example, use of GNSS receiver functionality can be relativelyrandom as compared to other devices. An IoT device can be implemented asa “slave” device wherein the IoT device is configured to responds torequests from an external “master” device. For example, an IoT devicemay receive a command from an external device to provide the IoTdevice's location via a RAT transmission, for example. Thus, instead ofbeing commanded to initiate location services (which may includelocating via a GNSS receiver) by an internal process or operatingsystem, an IoT device may instead respond to requests from an externalmaster device. In a smartphone, for example, a same controller can beconfigured to manage location services and RAT transmissions and,therefore, may orchestrate usage of transceiver(s) accordingly. In anIoT device, an internal controller may have limited insight into timingand order of location and data transmission requests and, instead, mayreact to such requests from an external controller.

As a controller (such as a coexistence manager) of an IoT device reactsto data transmission and/or GNSS locating requests, the controllerand/or GNSS receiver can include functionality to enable the GNSSreceiver to dynamically adapt to the requests. For example, the GNSSreceiver can include functionality to variably blank reception oflocating signals for a variable amount of time, at a variable dutycycle, etc. This functionality can enable, for example, a GNSS receiverto expeditiously react to relatively random requests (random induration, for example) to blank reception of location signals.

A controller for managing GNSS and RAT functionality can also includefeatures to selectively power a GNSS receiver. For example, an IoTdevice can operate in cycles wherein data transmissions are receptionsare each assigned a budget of a duty cycle. When it is determined that aparticular RAT transmission may exceed a determined cycle length, thecontroller can power down a GNSS receiver (as opposed to blanking, forexample) in anticipation that the GNSS receiver can be powered on and beoperable to receive signals at a later time. In certain embodiments, aGNSS receiver can be configured to selectively power down, be commandedto an idle state, and/or blank reception of signals depending on timingor other characteristics of a RAT transmission.

In certain embodiments, an IoT device can include functionality todetect and determine an amount of interference from a RAT transmission,as well as determine whether the interference is sufficient to prevent aGNSS receiver from detecting locating signals. Depending upon, forexample, a distance between an IoT device and a station, RATtransmission strength can be adjusted to conserve power. If an IoTdevice is relatively close to a station, the RAT transmission canoperate at a relatively lower transmission power strength withoutsignificant degradation of the resulting over-the-air signal before itreaches the station. A requested signal transmission strength may alsoor alternatively be determined from a signal strength of a signalreceived from a station (e.g., a signal received from a station at highstrength may indicate that a relatively low power transmission is neededto reach the station). An IoT device can measure a signal strength oftransmissions from a RAT transmitter and/or a commanded power level of aRAT transmission to determine if the transmissions are sufficient instrength to impede operation of a GNSS receiver. If so, the controllercan use techniques disclosed herein to prevent the GNSS receiver fromattempting to receive locating signals.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified diagram of an environment 100 in whichreception of Signal Positioning System (SPS) signals by the mobiledevice may be desensed during transmission of wireless signals by themobile device. The term Satellite Positioning System (SPS) is usedherein to refer to various types of satellite positioning systems,including different Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Forexample, the SPS system may be a Global Positioning System (GPS), GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, Beidou, and/or othertype of satellite positioning system. In general, the SPS system may beone or more of these different types of systems used either alone or inconjunction with one another. As shown, environment 100 includes amobile device 105. Mobile device 105 may be a device designed to performnumerous functions, including the ability to determine its own locationbased on the reception of SPS signals from satellites.

Mobile device 105 is able to perform satellite-based positioning byreceiving SPS signals from one or more satellites. Such satellite-basedpositioning techniques are well-known and only briefly described below.As shown here, mobile device 105 receives SPS signals 110, 115, and 120from satellites 125, 130, and 135, respectively. Typically, each of theSPS signals 110, 115, and 120 would include timing information relatingto when the SPS signal was transmitted from the respective satellite.Each SPS signal may also include ephemeris information which can be usedto determine the location of the satellite at the time the SPS signal istransmitted. Mobile device 105 is able to determine when it receiveseach of the SPS signals 110, 115, and 120. The transmission time andreception time of each SPS signal may be aligned on a common timingreference, such as a common clock, known to the mobile device 105. Bytaking the difference between the reception time and transmission time,mobile device 105 may compute the “flight time” associated with each SPSsignal, for it to travel from the respective satellite to mobile device105. The flight time can then be used to compute the distance betweeneach satellite and mobile device, taking into account the speed oflight. Once the distance between each satellite and the mobile device isfound, trilateration may be used to compute the location of mobiledevice 105, based on the known location of each satellite and thedistance between each satellite and mobile device 105.

In addition to satellite-based positioning, a significant category offunctions performed by mobile device 105 relates to wirelesscommunications. Wireless communications may serve as an important linkin connecting mobile device 105 over private and/or public networks withother devices such as servers and other user equipment. This may includecommunication over various types of wireless networks, includingwireless local area networks (WLAN) and wide area networks (WAN), amongothers. Examples of WLANs may be different types of Wi-Fi networks, suchas those implemented based on various 802.11 standards. The example inFIG. 1 focuses on wireless communications between mobile devices andbase stations. However, other examples of wireless communications mayinclude peer-to-peer communications between mobile devices such as Wi-FiDirect, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Direct, etc. Examples of WWAN RATs mayinclude LTE, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), and thelike. Additional examples of wireless communications may include nearfield communications (NFC), Bluetooth communications, etc. Embodimentsof the present invention, including selection of radio accesstechnologies (RATs) and/or control of transmission of wireless signalsto avoid “desensing,” may be implemented with different types ofwireless communication signals.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, mobile device 105 is able to performwireless communications by sending signals to, and receiving signalsfrom, one or more base stations 155. For instance, mobile device 105 maysend a communication signal 140 to an access point 145, which may be abase station supporting LTE communications. Mobile device 105 may send acommunication signal 150 to cell tower 155, which may be a base stationsupporting LTE communications. For instance, signal 140 and/or signal150 transmitted by mobile device 105 may include an HTTP request for aweb page the user of mobile device 105 may wish to retrieve from theInternet. Not shown in FIG. 1 are the wireless signals that mobiledevice 105 may receive back in response to the request. For example,such signals may be sent to mobile device 105 from access point 145and/or cell tower 155 and may include an HTTP response containing theHTML file constituting the requested web page. FIG. 1 highlights thewireless signals transmitted from mobile device 105 (as opposed towireless signals received by mobile device 105), because variousembodiments of the present invention addresses techniques to control thescheduling of wireless signal transmissions from the mobile device, toreduce interference caused by such transmitted signals.

For example, if mobile device 105 simultaneously attempts to receive SPSsignals such as 110, 115, and 120 and transmit wireless signals such as140 and 150, interference may occur to “desense” the proper reception ofthe SPS signals. This can occur if received SPS signals 110, 115, and120 and transmitted wireless signals 140 and 150 utilize common oroverlapping frequencies. The interference may also be caused by spectralemissions from adjacent or close frequency bands. This can also occureven when received SPS signals 110, 115, and 120 and transmittedwireless signals 140 and 150 do not utilize common or overlappingfrequencies, but intermodulation products introduce interference.

As mentioned previously, interference can occur when mobile device 105attempts to simultaneously transmit wireless signals (e.g., one or moreLTE signals) and receive SPS signals (e.g., GNSS signals). This canresult if the wireless signals and the SPS signals utilize common oroverlapping frequencies. Interference can also result if the wirelesssignals and the SPS signals do not utilize common or overlappingfrequencies, but intermodulation products (IM) introduce interference.As an example, a GNSS transceiver may operate on 1.5/1.6 GHz frequencyband. Therefore, the following IM products may result from concurrentoperation of SPS and communication transceivers:

-   -   (A) Long term evolution (LTE) B13/B14 (777-798 MHz uplink),        second harmonics falls in the GNSS band (e.g., 2×780 MHz=1600        L1).    -   (B) 800 MHz WWAN and 2.4 GHz WLAN, second order IM product (IM2)        falls at 1.6 GHz (e.g., 2.4 GHz-800 MHz),    -   (C) 1.7/1.9 GHz WWAN and 5 GHz WLAN, third order IM product        falls at 1.6 GHz (e.g., 5 GHz-2×1.7 GHz),

As can be seen, even though WLAN signals at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz and WWANsignals at 800 MHz or 1.7/1.9 GHz may not necessarily utilize the samefrequency as GNSS signals at 1.5/1.6 GHz, it is possible for IM productsresulting from the mixing of such WLAN and WWAN signals to land in thesame frequencies utilized by GNSS signals. Such IM products may thusinterfere with and “desense” the proper reception of the GNSS signals.Two of the above examples show IM products resulting from thetransmission of signals belonging to different RAT transceivers. Thefirst example shows that interference (e.g., harmonics, IM products)result from the transmission of signals belonging to the same type ofsystem (e.g., LTE only). In general, interference on the GNSS signalsmay result from transmission of signals belonging to one or more RATtransceivers.

In general, many factors may affect whether a RAT transceiver'stransmissions cause substantial interference with the reception of GNSSsignals by a GNSS receiver. In some situations, the frequency being usedby the RAT transceiver may cause little or no interference with the GNSSreceiver. In some situations, the RAT transceiver may be transmitting ata low enough power that the RAT transceiver may cause little or nointerference with the GNSS receiver. In other situations, the RATtransceiver's spectral emissions or harmonics may cause interferencewith the GNSS receiver. When multiple RAT transceivers of a device aretransmitting at a same time, various harmonic and/or intermodulationfrequencies may be created that can cause interference with the GNSSreceiver (as shown above).

Certain embodiments describe techniques to closely coordinate GNSS andRAT operation to mitigate or eliminate the impact of radio transmissions(RFI) within a device on GNSS operation. Current systems are designedsuch that the GNSS receiver reacts to the RAT transmission issues. Forexample, if there is strong interference in the GNSS L1 band, the GNSSreceiver switches to the GNSS L2 band. In another example, the systemmay artificially limit a RAT transmission duty cycle to reduceinterference on the GNSS receiver. However, for an IoT device which maybe required to randomly transmit RAT messages, as disclosed herein,artificially limiting a RAT transmission duty cycle may not be able tosupport initiation times for relatively immediate transmittal of amessage in response to a randomly received request for transmittal.Another scheme is to blank the GNSS receiver when other transceivers inthe device are transmitting.

In certain embodiments, a coexistence manager prioritizes accessrequests to a GNSS receiver and a RAT transceiver. In certainembodiments, RAT control is performed to protect GNSS receiver frominterference. For example, reverse messaging can be sent by acoexistence manager (CxM) to the Connectivity Engine (CnE) or a highlevel OS (HLOS) to change the priority of radios (e.g., pick WLAN vs.WWAN) for the purpose of GNSS protection.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a device 200, in which aGNSS receiver 220 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 210 are used inconjunction in a device to enable full duplex communication of the GNSSreceiver and the RAT transceivers. Device 200 may include: GNSS receiver220, RATs transceivers 210, communication interface 250, and antennas222, 232-1, 232-2, 232-3, and 260.

As illustrated, RATs 210 include three RAT transceivers 230-1, 230-2,and 230-3. Some or all of RAT transceivers 210 may be configured toreceive commands from and/or transmit data to GNSS receiver 220. Some orall RAT transceivers 210 may include controller functionality and may beconfigured to provide a controller (not shown) with information aboutone or more upcoming transmissions.

The information (which may be referred to as a characteristic) about theone or more upcoming transmissions may include: the time of the start ofthe transmission, end time of the transmission, and/or time window (alsoreferred to as the time period) of the transmission; an indication ofthe RAT; the frequency of the transmission; and/or the power level ofthe transmission. Some or all RAT transceivers 210 may be configured toreceive commands from GNSS receiver 220.

GNSS receiver 220 can include: measurement engine 240 and positionengine 250, controller 245. A measurement engine 240 o can processtiming data received via an antenna element 260 from multiple satellitesof one or more global navigation satellite systems. Based on thereceived timing data, correlators can be used to determine timinginformation by the measurement engine. Based on the calculated timinginformation using the correlators, a pseudorange can be determined bymeasurement engine 240.

The pseudorange calculations made by measurement engine 240 can beoutput (e.g., to another component, an application being executed, or ahigh-level operating system) and/or may be passed to position engine250. Position engine 250, based on the pseudorange calculations frommeasurement engine 240, may determine a location of GNSS receiver 220 inthe form of coordinates. These coordinates may be provided to anapplication and/or high level operating system being executed by a hostprocessor for use as a location of GNSS receiver 220 or, more generally,as the location of the device 300, such as a cellular phone or tabletcomputer, or the like.

The device 200 of FIG. 2 includes an antenna element 260 coupled to GNSSreceiver 220 and each of RAT transceivers 210. Antenna element 260 canbe coupled to a housing of a device, be a discrete component, bedistributed across several components, and/or can be integrated within atransceiver, receiver, and/or transmitter. Antenna element 260 can beoperable to emit a radio frequency transmission from both or for each ofGNSS receiver 220 and/or each of RAT transceivers 210. To enable fullduplex operation of GNSS Receiver 220 and (e.g., concurrently with) RATtransceivers 210, several hardware components may be used to desensitizeGNSS Receiver 220 from transmissions from RAT transceivers 210 (e.g.,LTE transmissions). For example, a filter 264 can be used to filter lowband 2^(nd) harmonic frequencies of LTE transmissions (or other RATtransmissions/components) from unduly attenuating signals received byGNSS Receiver 220 used to locate device 200. Filter 264 can also includea notch filter, for example, to filter LTE mid band frequencies fromimpacting GNSS Receiver 220 operation. A switch 262 can also be includedwithin device 200. Switch 262 can include, for example, a reed relay orlike device to physically separate antenna element 260 from one or moreof GNSS receiver 220 and each of RAT transceivers 210. The components262 and 264 can be implemented as hardware components within device 200and thus may add to a cost to manufacture device 200, power requirementto operate device 200, or other. If device 200 is an IoT device, thisadditional cost and/or power usage may be undesirable as disclosedherein.

In certain embodiments, each of RAT transceivers 210 may be associatedwith a respective corresponding antenna. RAT transceiver 230-1 may useantenna 232-1 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals; RATtransceiver 230-2 may use antenna 232-2 to transmit and/or receivewireless signals; and RAT transceiver 230-3 may use antenna 232-3 totransmit and/or receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, two ormore RAT transceivers of RAT transceivers 210 may share a singleantenna. One or more RAT transceivers of RAT transceivers 210 maytransmit using two or more antennas. A RAT transceiver of RATtransceivers 210 may be permitted to switch transmission from a firstantenna to a second antenna. In some embodiments, it may also bepossible that GNSS receiver 220 may share an antenna with one or moreRAT transceivers 210. GNSS receiver 220 may also include a standaloneantenna 222 that is distinct from an antenna used by a RAT transceiver210. Although not illustrated, each of antennas 222, 232-1, 232-2, or232-3 can be coupled to a respective one or more filtering elements(such as filter 264), switch elements (such as switch 262), or other toreduce or inhibit noise from RAT transmissions or other sources, asdisclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a device 300, in which aGNSS receiver 310 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 320 are used inconjunction in a device to enable half duplex communication of the GNSSreceiver and the RAT transceivers without need of filtering or switchingdevice for common antenna element 330 (or antennas 326-1, 326-2, and/or326-3). In certain embodiments, a RAT transceiver 320 can operate in ahalf duplex mode for transmitting and receiving signals. In certainembodiments, a GNSS receiver 310 can operate in a half duplex mode inconjunction with transmissions from a RAT transceiver 320 (ortransmitter). In certain embodiments, a GNSS receiver 310 can operatesimultaneously when a RAT transceiver 320 is operating in a receptionmode. Device 300 may include: GNSS receiver 310, RATs transceivers 320,antenna 330, and communication interface 340. GNSS receiver can besimilar to GNSS receiver 220. RAT transceivers 320 can be similar to RATtransceivers 210. Device 400 may also include antennas 311, 326-1,326-2, and/or 326-3.

As illustrated, each of RAT transceivers 322-1, 322-2, 322-3, and GNSSreceiver 310 can share a common antenna element 330 for respectivetransmission and/or reception of radio frequency signals therefrom. Oneor more of the RAT transceivers 320 may include a coexistence manager324. For example, RAT transceiver 322-1 may include coexistence manager324-1, RAT transceiver 322-2 may include coexistence manager 324-2 andRAT transceiver 322-3 may include coexistence manager 324-3. It shouldbe understood that, in other embodiments, fewer or greater numbers ofRAT transceivers, antennas and/or coexistence managers may be present.Coexistence managers can operate as controllers to manage use of antenna300 by RAT transceivers 320 and GNSS receiver 310.

Some or all of RAT transceivers 320 may be configured to receive ortransmit commands and/or transmit data to GNSS receiver 3100. Some orall RAT transceivers 320 may be configured to provide GNSS receiver 310with information about one or more upcoming transmissions. Each of RATtransceivers 320 can be configured to command GNSS receiver to power onand operate, power off, enter a standby mode, and/or blank reception oflocating signals via antenna element 330 or antenna 311.

These commands and/or data can include a time to start reception oflocating signals, an end time to stop reception of locating signal, atime window (also referred to as the time period) of reception, a dutycycle for ignoring reception of locating signals in a cyclic fashion, orother. These commands/data can be passed via a common messagingprotocol, via a dedicated hardware signal, or other.

GNSS receiver 310 can include: measurement engine 312, position engine314, and controller 316. Controller 316 can include coexistence manager318 and interference data structure 319. Measurement engine 312 can besimilar to measurement engine 240. Position Engine 314 can be similar topositioning engine 250.

Coexistence manager 318 may be part of a controller 316 of GNSS receiver310. In addition to performing other functions, controller 316 mayperform the functions of coexistence manager 318. Coexistence manager318 can serve to manage a GNSS-based location determination such that alocation of GNSS receiver 220 can be determined while operation eventsare occurring at one or more RAT transceivers 320.

Coexistence manager 318 can be configured to maintain an interferencedata structure 319 that can indicate an amount of interferenceexperienced by GNSS receiver 310 when various RAT transceiver operatingevents are occurring. For instance entries may be created andperiodically updated in interference data structure 319 that classifiesspecific operating events at RAT transceivers 320. Entries may bemaintained not only for operating events of specific RAT transceivers ofRAT transceivers 320, but also for combinations of multiple RATtransceivers of RAT transceivers 320. Such combinations can be used todetermine additional interference caused by intermodulation effects thatcan occur when two or more RAT transceivers 320 are transmitting at asame time. Interference data structure 319 may maintain informationabout the amount of interference received by GNSS receiver 310 when aRAT transceiver is transmitting at specific frequencies and/or specificpower levels. Interference data structure 319 may also maintaininformation about the amount of interference received by GNSS receiver310 for other forms of operating events performed by RAT transceivers320 besides transmit events. For instance, receive events may also causean amount of interference to be experienced by GNSS receiver 310.

Although not illustrated, each of coexistence managers 324-1 through324-3 can include an interference data structure. Used in conjunctionwith a coexistence manager of a RAT transceiver, an interference datastructure can be used to record transmission parameters of one or moreRAT transceivers 320. For example, a transmission signal strength can bedetermined and recorded within an interference data structure. Thesignal strength can indicate an amount of interference that may beimparted into antenna element 330 during transmission by a respectiveRAT transceiver. In certain embodiments, an interference data structurecan be shared by two or more RAT transceivers 320. Also, not shown canbe an interface component (e.g., analog to digital converter, switch,etc.) that can be used to couple an antenna to GNSS receiver 220 and/ora RAT transceiver 340. The interface components can be implementedwithin a same integrated circuit as GNSS receiver 220 or RAT transceiver340. During blanking, for example, a GNSS receiver 220 can configuredinterface components to dissociate the GNSS receiver from antenna 230,for example.

In certain embodiments, each of RAT transceivers 320 may be associatedwith an antenna. RAT transceiver 322-1 may use antenna 326-1 to transmit(and, possibly, receive) wireless signals; RAT transceiver 322-2 may useantenna 326-2 to transmit (and, possibly, receive) wireless signals; andRAT transceiver 322-3 may use antenna 326-3 to transmit (and, possibly,receive) wireless signals. In some embodiments, two or more RATtransceivers of RAT transceivers 320 may share a single antenna. Also,one or more RAT transceivers of RAT transceivers 320 may transmit usingtwo or more antennas. A RAT transceiver of RAT transceivers 320 may bepermitted to switch transmission from a first antenna to a secondantenna. In some embodiments, it may also be possible that GNSS receiver310 may share an antenna with one or more RAT transceivers 320. GNSSreceiver 310 may also include a standalone antenna 411 that is distinctfrom an antenna used by a RAT transceiver 320.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a device 400 having a coexistencemanager separate from a GNSS receiver or RAT transceiver, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. For instance, GNSSreceiver 410 may reside on a first integrated circuit chip and thecoexistence manager may reside on a second integrated circuit chip.System 400 may include: GNSS receiver 410, RATs 420, antenna element430, coexistence manager 450, high level operating system (HLOS) 454,and communication interface 440. Device 400 may also include antennas411, 426-1, 426-2, and/or 426-3.

Components of device 400 may function substantially similarly to device300 of FIG. 3. For instance, coexistence manager 450 may perform all ofthe functions of coexistence manager 318. However, rather than thecoexistence manager being part of GNSS receiver 310, coexistence manager450 is separate. In some embodiments, coexistence manager 450 may beimplemented as hardware or firmware. In some embodiments, coexistencemanager 450 is executed by a host, which refers to a processor handlingexecuting of a high level operating system. In some embodiments,coexistence manager 450 may be a stand-alone component (e.g., a separatecontroller) or may be incorporated into another component, such as aspecialized or general-purpose processor.

Coexistence manager 450 may receive information about operating events(e.g., current or upcoming) from RATs 420 and may receive informationfrom GNSS receiver 410 about a status of location determination.Coexistence manager 450 may receive information output by controller 416of GNSS receiver 410 about received power levels of various GNSSlocating signals. Coexistence manager 450 may receive information outputfrom RATs 420 about transmitted power levels of various RATtransmissions. Coexistence manager 450 may maintain interference datastructure 452 as detailed in relation to coexistence manager 319.Interference data structure 452 may be onboard coexistence manager 450or may be stored in another location and accessible by coexistencemanager 450. In some embodiments, interference data structure 452 may bemaintained by controller 416 of GNSS receiver 410, for example.

Coexistence manager 450 can communicate with controller 426 of GNSSreceiver 410 and RATs 420 via communication interface 440 (or via twoseparate communication interfaces). Such a communication interface maypermit serial, parallel, or some other form of data transmission tooccur among the components. In some embodiments, GNSS receiver 410 canreceive data from and transmit data to coexistence manager 450 and RATs420 can receive data from and transmit data to coexistence manager 450.

Coexistence manager 450 may communicate with a high level operatingsystem (HLOS) 454 and/or one or more applications being executed by HLOS454. HLOS 454 may instruct coexistence manager 450 whether preferenceshould be given to location determination or to operating events of RATs420. In certain embodiments, coexistence manager 450 can be operable todetermine a priority between RAT and GNSS activities. For example,coexistence manager 450 can include one or more rules. Example rulesthat can be implemented include: always prioritizing one or more RATtransmissions over GNSS receptions, always prioritizing GNSS locatingsignal reception over RAT transmissions, or prioritizing a GNSS locatingsignal reception or a RAT transmissions based upon one or moreparameters. These parameters can include information gathered from anexternal agent indicating a priority, information from priorprioritization of one transmission over another, a running tally ofusage of a GNSS receiver or RAT transmitter, or other information.

In certain embodiments, a RAT transceiver can operate to transmit LTEsignals, as disclosed herein. A specific transmission session of an LTEprotocol can have a maximum active transmission period of 2.048 seconds.A minimum time period between active sessions can be 1 millisecond. Aminimum time between two consecutive sessions can be 5 milliseconds. Asdisclosed herein, an IoT device may have limited forewarning as to anexpected length of a transmission session. Instead, the IoT device mayact to respond to requested from external agents. When a request isreceived by such an external agent, an IoT device may then onlydetermine a length of transmission (or other information). Therefore,this information may only be obtained by an IoT device one or twomilliseconds before an active transmission session is initiated. Assuch, an impact to a GNSS receiver's ability to determine a location ofan IoT device may be randomly interfered depending upon when a requestto transmit an LTE signal is received by an IoT device.

A controller, such as a coexistence manager described herein, can beoperable to adjust GNSS operation to occur serially and exclusively froma RAT transceiver (such an LTE transceiver). Additionally oralternatively, a controller can be operable to command a GNSS receiverto blank reception of GNSS reception signals, as described herein. Givencertain timing parameters of a RAT transmission (such as throughprovided herein regarding LTE transmission timings), a controller can beoperable to intelligently prioritize serial powering, blanking of a GNSSreceiver, or message content between the controller and GNSS receiver,for example.

In certain embodiments, a controller can determine whether an LTEtransmissions is to have a duration of less than 6 milliseconds. If sothen a blanking and/or powered down state of a GNSS receiver can bemaintained during transmission of an LTE message. If the duration isgreater than or equal to 6 milliseconds, the controller can additionalsend information to a GNSS receiver including the LTE transmission starttime, duration, band, bandwidth, and/or transmission power. Thisinformation can be used by the GNSS receiver to determine if and whenGNSS locating signals should be received. For example, the GNSS receivermay not receive locating signals for the duration of the LTEtransmission. If the band and/or power parameters of the LTEtransmission indicate that the transmission will not interfere with GNSSlocating signal reception, the GNSS receiver may continue to receivelocating signals. In certain embodiments, if a transmission duration isgreater than 200 millisecond, the controller can send a notificationafter the transmission session is complete. Although LTE is used as anexample, other RAT protocols can also be used using similar techniques.

A GNSS receiver can include functionality to support management of GNSSreception and RAT transmission(s). For example, a GNSS receiver caninclude functionality to determine of a GNSS measurement is “polluted.”As used herein, a polluted GNSS measurement can indicate that themeasurement may not be accurate do to interference from a RATtransmission. For example, a GNSS measurement period may be deemed toresult in pollute measurements if the measurement period overlaps with aRAT transmission for greater than 1 millisecond. If a measurement ispolluted, it can be flagged to not be used to determine a location of adevice. If a RAT transmission session is longer than threshold period oftime (200 milliseconds for LTE, for example), the GNSS receiver may idleitself. If a RAT transmission session is between 6 milliseconds and 200milliseconds, for example, the GNSS receiver can blank reception oflocating signals. If a transmission session is longer than 1 second, forexample, the GNSS receiver can power itself off to further save power.Upon reception from a controller that a RAT transmission has completed,the GNSS receiver can power itself back on.

In certain embodiments, each of RAT transceivers 420 may be associatedwith an antenna. RAT transceiver 422-1 may use antenna 426-1 to transmit(and, possibly, receive) wireless signals; RAT transceiver 422-2 may useantenna 426-2 to transmit (and, possibly, receive) wireless signals; andRAT transceiver 422-3 may use antenna 426-3 to transmit (and, possibly,receive) wireless signals. In some embodiments, two or more RATtransceivers of RAT transceivers 420 may share a single antenna. Also,one or more RAT transceivers of RAT transceivers 420 may transmit usingtwo or more antennas. A RAT transceiver of RAT transceivers 420 may bepermitted to switch transmission from a first antenna to a secondantenna. In some embodiments, it may also be possible that GNSS receiver410 may share an antenna with one or more RAT transceivers 420. GNSSreceiver 410 may also include a standalone antenna 411 that is distinctfrom an antenna used by a RAT transceiver 420.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart 500 for implementing techniques of thedisclosure according to certain embodiments. At 502, a determination canbe made if a first signal is received by an SPS receiver of device. Thedetermination can be made by a controller (such as controller 316 or 416or coexistence manager 450). The device can be device 200, 300, or 400.Depending on certain characteristics of the signal, a state of thedevice, or other criteria as disclosed herein, at 504, a transmitter canbe induced to delay transmission of a second signal or, at 506, thesecond signal can be transmitted at a power level determined to allowreception of the first signal to enable locating of the device. Incertain embodiments, a transmission can be delayed until a location isdetermined for the SPS receiver.

FIG. 6 provides a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a computersystem 600 that can perform various blocks of the methods provided byvarious embodiments. A computer system as illustrated in FIG. 6 may beincorporated as part of the previously described computerized devices,such as devices 200, 300, and 500. For instance, functions of acoexistence manager may be performed by a general-purpose processorimplemented as part of computer system 600. Further, devices 200, 300,and 500 may reside on a computerized mobile device, such as a tabletcomputer or cellular phone that contains computer system 600. It shouldbe noted that FIG. 6 is meant only to provide a generalized illustrationof various components, any or all of which may be utilized asappropriate. FIG. 6, therefore, broadly illustrates how individualsystem elements may be implemented in a relatively separated orrelatively more integrated manner.

The computer system 600 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 605 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 610, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, video decoders, and/or the like); one or more input devices615, which can include without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, remotecontrol, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 620, which caninclude without limitation a display device, a printer, and/or the like.As used herein, a controller can include functionality of a processor(such as processors 610).

The computer system 600 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 625, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer system 600 might also include a communications subsystem630, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationdevice, GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-U, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 630 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example),other computer systems, and/or any other devices described herein. Inmany embodiments, the computer system 600 will further comprise aworking memory 635, which can include a RAM or ROM device, as describedabove.

The computer system 600 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 635, including anoperating system 640, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 645, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed abovemight be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 625 described above. In some cases, thestorage medium might be incorporated within a computer system, such ascomputer system 600. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer system 600 and/or might take the form of source and/orinstallable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation on thecomputer system 600 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally availablecompilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities,etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer system 600) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 600 in response to processor 610executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 640 and/or other code, such asan application program 645) contained in the working memory 635. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 635 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the non-transitorystorage device(s) 625. Merely by way of example, execution of thesequences of instructions contained in the working memory 635 mightcause the processor(s) 610 to perform one or more procedures of themethods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable storage medium”and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium thatparticipates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in aspecific fashion. These mediums may be non-transitory. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 600, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)610 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 625. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory 635.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, any other physical medium with patterns of marks, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 610for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 600.

The communications subsystem 630 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 605 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 635, from which the processor(s) 610 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 635 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device625 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 610.

It should further be understood that the components of computer system600 can be distributed across a network. For example, some processingmay be performed in one location using a first processor while otherprocessing may be performed by another processor remote from the firstprocessor. Other components of computer system 600 may be similarlydistributed. As such, computer system 600 may be interpreted as adistributed computing system that performs processing in multiplelocations. In some instances, computer system 600 may be interpreted asa single computing device, such as a distinct laptop, desktop computer,or the like, depending on the context.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

A SPS typically includes a system of transmitters positioned to enableentities to determine their location on or above the Earth based, atleast in part, on signals received from the transmitters. Such atransmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeatingpseudo-random noise (PN) code. In a particular example, suchtransmitters may be located on Earth orbiting space vehicles (SV). Forexample, a SV in a constellation of Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) such as Global Positioning System GPS, Global NavigationSatellite System (GLONASS), etc. may transmit a signal marked with a PNcode that is distinguishable from PN codes transmitted by other SVs inthe constellation.

In accordance with certain aspects, the techniques presented herein arenot restricted to global systems (e.g., GNSS) for SPS. For example, thetechniques provided herein may be applied to or otherwise adapted foruse in various regional systems, such as, e.g., Quasi-Zenith SatelliteSystem (QZSS) over Japan, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System(IRNSS) over India, etc., and/or various augmentation systems (e.g., anSatellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS)) that may be associated withor otherwise adapted for use with one or more global and/or regionalnavigation satellite systems. By way of example but not limitation, anSBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provide integrityinformation, differential corrections, etc., such as, e.g., Wide AreaAugmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation OverlayService (EGNOS), Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS),GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigationsystem (GAGAN), and/or the like. Such SBAS may, for example, transmitSPS and/or SPS-like signals that may also be interfered with by certainwireless communication signals, etc. Thus, as used herein, an SPS mayinclude any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigationsatellite systems and/or augmentation systems, and SPS signals mayinclude SPS, SPS-like, and/or other signals associated with such one ormore SPS.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departingfrom the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements maybe components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: an antenna; a satellitepositioning system (SPS) receiver coupled with the antenna; a radioaccess technology (RAT) transmitter coupled with the antenna; and acontroller communicatively coupled to the SPS receiver and the RATtransmitter, wherein the controller is configured to: determine whetherthe SPS receiver is receiving a first signal via the antenna todetermine a location of the SPS receiver; and in response to determiningthat the SPS receiver is receiving the first signal via the antenna,induce the RAT transmitter to either: (a) delay a second signal frombeing transmitted by the RAT transmitter via the antenna while the firstsignal is being received by the SPS receiver via the antenna or thelocation of the SPS has not been determined; or (b) transmit the secondsignal at a low power level via the antenna while the first signal isreceived by the SPS receiver via the antenna, the low power leveldetermined to allow reception of the first signal by the SPS receivervia the antenna, wherein the apparatus does not include a diplexercoupled between the antenna and each of the SPS receiver and the RATtransmitter to physically separate the first signal from the secondsignal.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to select the low power level based on a determination of astrength of the second signal at a receiving station.
 3. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to select thelow power level based on at least one of: a distance between theapparatus and the station, or a degree of interference experienced by aprior signal transmitted by the apparatus and received at the station.4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to select the low power level based on a power level of asignal received from a station.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to induce the transmitter to: delay the secondsignal from being transmitted while the first signal is received by theSPS receiver or a location of the SPS has not been determined; and nottransmit the second signal while the first signal is received by the SPSreceiver.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to induce the transmitter to: transmit the second signal atthe low power level while the first signal is received by the SPSreceiver; and not delay the second signal from being transmitted whilethe first signal is received by the SPS receiver or a location of theSPS has not been determined.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to: determine whether a transmission by the RATtransmitter is prioritized over the reception by the SPS receiver; andin response to determining that the transmission by the RAT transmitteris prioritized over the reception by the SPS receiver: (1) induce thetransmitter to transmit the second signal; and (2) blank the SPSreceiver from deriving positioning information based on the reception,or power down the SPS receiver.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein thedetermining of whether to blank the SPS receiver or power down the SPSreceiver is based on a temporal length of a transmission by thetransmitter.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller isintegrated onto a same integrated circuit die as either the SPS receiveror the transmitter.
 10. A method, comprising: determining whether a SPSreceiver is receiving a first signal via an antenna to determine alocation of the SPS receiver; and in response to the determination thatthe SPS receiver is receiving the first signal via the antenna, inducingRAT transmitter to either: (a) delay a second signal from beingtransmitted by the RAT transmitter via the antenna while the firstsignal is received by the SPS receiver via the antenna and the locationof the SPS has not been determined; or (b) transmit the second signal ata low power level via the antenna while the first signal is received bythe SPS receiver via the antenna, the low power level determined toallow reception of the first signal by the SPS receiver via the antenna,wherein a signal path between the antenna and each of the SPS receiverand the RAT transmitter does not include a diplexer to physicallyseparate the first signal from the second signal.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the low power level is selected based on adetermination of a strength of the second signal at a receiving station.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the low power level is selectedbased on at least one of: a distance between the antenna and thestation, or a degree of interference experienced by a prior signaltransmitted by the antenna and received at the station.
 13. The methodof claim 10, wherein the low power level is selected based on a powerlevel of a signal received from a station.
 14. A non-transitory computerreadable medium containing instructions that, when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to: determine whethera SPS receiver is receiving a first signal via an antenna to determine alocation of the SPS receiver; and in response to the determination thatthe SPS receiver is receiving the first signal via the antenna, induceRAT transmitter to either: (a) delay a second signal from beingtransmitted by the RAT transmitter via the antenna while the firstsignal is received by the SPS receiver via the antenna and the locationof the SPS has not been determined; or (b) transmit the second signal ata low power level via the antenna, the low power level determined toallow reception of the first signal by the SPS receiver via the antenna,wherein a signal path between the antenna and each of the SPS receiverand the RAT transmitter does not include a diplexer to physicallyseparate the first signal from the second signal.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the low power level isselected based on a determination of a strength of the second signal ata receiving station.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the low power level is selected based on at least oneof: a distance between the antenna and the station, or a degree ofinterference experienced by a prior signal transmitted by the antennaand received at the station.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 14, wherein the low power level is selected based on apower level of a signal received from a station.
 18. An apparatus,comprising: means for determining whether a SPS receiver is receiving afirst signal via an antenna to determine a location of the SPS receiver;and in response to the determination that the SPS receiver is receivingthe first signal via the antenna: means for delaying a second signalfrom being transmitted by a RAT transmitter via the antenna while thefirst signal is received by the SPS receiver via the antenna and thelocation of the SPS has not been determined; or means for transmittingthe second signal at a low power level via the antenna while the firstsignal is received by the SPS receiver via the antenna, the low powerlevel determined to allow reception of the first signal by the SPSreceiver via the antenna, wherein a signal path between the antenna andeach of the SPS receiver and the RAT transmitter does not include adiplexer to physically separate the first signal from the second signal.19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the low power level is selectedbased on a determination of a strength of the second signal at areceiving station.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the low powerlevel is selected based on at least one of: a distance between theapparatus and the station, or a degree of interference experienced by aprior signal transmitted by the apparatus and received at the station.21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the low power level is selectedbased on a power level of a signal received from a station.